Future Living: The Coming Web Lifestyle

The value of the networks to your web connected homes will be awesome for you and your family...IF...you participate (See "Metcalfe's Law" p.187-188). The near future holds great surprises for you and your family...IF...you participate (See "The 57.5 Year Megacycle of Prosperity" p.69). Just wait till the wireless web hits the masses. Yes. We must dream bigger, and buy this book!

It seems especially appropriate to review this book on September 11th. Mr. Feather points out that September 11, 2001 changed the way we will all think about and experience our lives in North America. How will we respond in the future? Although no one can know for sure, Future Living is a helpful inspiration to look for the opportunities to improve the world for everyone. When the stock market bubble burst in 2000, many people assumed that the aggressive forecasts for the on-line world also burst. Some did, but the on-line world is still developing rapidly . . . adding new possibilities and changing behaviors.The book begins with a look at major forces that are affecting us, "G-Forces" in the book's nomenclature. These are social forces (increasing aspirations for the top part of Maslow's hierarchy), technological innovation (especially microchips, software and the Web), economic modernization (the effects of long-term economic cycles are about to turn positive), and political reformation (democracy reasserts itself against special interests). Trending those thoughts into the future, Mr. Feather describes a world that has most of the good qualities of both the Agricultural and the Industrial eras with relatively few of the drawbacks. See the comparison on page 21.The core thought is that your world will become home- and cyber-based at the same time. People will telecommute rather than physically commute, shop on-line and have most things delivered, bank on-line and manage their money there, use the Web for at-home learning (replacing even school), take more responsibility for one's own health and health care, use the Web for more forms of entertainment, increase spirituality through on-line activities including on-line congregations, vote on-line and start e-businesses based at home. I found the speculations about changing democracy to contain the most interesting ideas. Most of the other forecasts have already happened to a large degree with one member or another of our family. I was also very interested in his thoughts on economic cycles. I hadn't heard anyone say much about Kondratieff Waves and Juglar Cycles in years. Mr. Feather's analysis (summarized on a stylized graph on page 69) is most interesting, and seems to suggest that the best days are ahead (at least though around 2020). Although no one can be sure until it happens, I think that Mr. Feather is more right than wrong in his forecasts. We have yet to see the full benefit from the Web and advances in microchips. We will inevitably start to gain disproportionate benefits as time passes and people become more accustomed to the possibilities. The only major conclusion that I disagreed with was that most people would be better off setting up a multi-level marketing business than trying some other form of start-up. If you run the economics of having everyone do MLM, you quickly see that there will be little long-term gain. I think that local services for the elderly or W